See that bolded number? There were twice as many Toyotas on the road as any other single make.

The numbers in trucks were even more lopsided. I didn't count, but I'd guess 90% of the pickups were new-ish Hiluxes. Maybe a few Nissan. And if you saw a Chevy or Ford, you were practically assured that it said ACP on the side.

Moral: The US doesn't properly appreciate Toyotas. Therefore, we don't get the HiLux or HiAce nowadays, and those we have remaining go to places that do.

My TOY and I used to live in SD. My Clifford alarm has saved it 3 times. Pop the door handle, pop the keyway on column use a screwdriver to turn ignition. I worry about it here too. The truck attracts a lot of attention

My TOY and I used to live in SD. My Clifford alarm has saved it 3 times. Pop the door handle, pop the keyway on column use a screwdriver to turn ignition. I worry about it here too. The truck attracts a lot of attention

Good god, I'm getting real worried now. I have some kill switches I'm gonna wire in, probably sleep in the back too

Good god, I'm getting real worried now. I have some kill switches I'm gonna wire in, probably sleep in the back too

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I'm always worried about theft. These truck are REALLY desired. I have a steering wheel bar so that will slow a thief down for a few minutes. A hidden kill switch also slows them down some. The audible alarm probably helps deter a less sophisticated thief.

If the thief is the high caliber kind, and they want your vehicle bad enough, it doesn't matter what anti-theft devices you have installed, they will steal it.

Some years ago, my boss drove an $80,000 Porche. He parked it in an underground parking area, live guard at a gate, with walking security guards roaming the parking areas 24/7. He had the most sophisticated alarm you could install at the time. It was a very busy high rise business building in downtown Los Angeles.

Thieves got it in the middle of the day!

When I get my truck running right and driving it every day, I will be installing some anti-theft devices, just to give me some piece of mind. There are some trace tracking devices I will be looking at.

snip...Moral: The US doesn't properly appreciate Toyotas. Therefore, we don't get the HiLux or HiAce nowadays, and those we have remaining go to places that do.

Americans DO appreciate Toyotas as the success of the Taco on our roads clearly demonstrates(I swear in Maui every other car was a Taco), however we do not beat on our trucks the way the rest of the world does, and we repair our vehicles for the most part when they are damaged compared to the rest of the globe. Perhaps I should say that 'we' did not use the hilux to its full potential(according to Toyota marketing i guess), so they created the 'softer' Tacoma, compared to the Hilux. Personally, i think our Taco looks better than the Hilux, but everything else about the Hilux is more robust than than the Taco. I wonder if the demand for the Taco down south is due to reliability, and not necessarily heavy duty mini truck duties. Go to http://www.toyodiy.com/ and cross reference Taco and Hilux parts, it amazes me how many parts are not shared between models. towing and payload specs also tell the story.

I daily a 92' 22re Pickup, in MD and have had many offers to buy my truck from gentlemen of south of the border. A neighboring office manager stopped me one day and asked what year my truck was, and that he used to own a similar long bed. He was from Guatemala, and told me that the those trucks are often hijacked at gunpoint. They take the truck, leave you on the side of the road and strip it to resell all the parts. Very bad men, as he explained. Funny, he drives an Escalade here in the states.

Americans DO appreciate Toyotas as the success of the Taco on our roads clearly demonstrates(I swear in Maui every other car was a Taco), however we do not beat on our trucks the way the rest of the world does, and we repair our vehicles for the most part when they are damaged compared to the rest of the globe.

Yes, I suppose we do. But in my opinion not nearly to the extent that some other parts of the world do, especially in minivans and trucks. Neglecting ACP vehicles (I think the ACP must have some kind of buying/supply arrangement with the US), it was always a surprise to me in Panama to see a truck that was not a HiLux. Or a 15-passenger van that was not a HiAce. Tacomas, Tundras, and Siennas were pretty much unknown. And I saw many trucks and vans.

Around here (WY) there are a good number of Tacomas and Tundras. But the don't reach anything like the ubiquity of the HiLuxes in Panama.

About 15 minutes after snapping those photos, I passed the Rest Stop and saw 6 to 8 more trucks parked together towing Toyotas!

Gnarls.

It is obvious to me that there is only one option left us: Go to Mexico, Guatemala and other places in Central America and start a Toyota Cartel. We'll smuggle Hiluxes into the US inside loads of marijuana.